Fairy tales and Bruises
by SilentLiquidKnight
Summary: Twins were born the night the Kyuubi attacked. Minato made a quick decision and split the Kyuubi in half and sealed it within his children. Neither Kushina nor Minato survived that night. The Third Hokage had tried to help the twins, but the council had beat him to the children and outvoted him on what to do with them. The Thrid Hokage was banned from doing anything with the twins.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Fairy tales and Bruises

 **Summery:** Two babies were born when the Kyuubi attacked the village. Minato made a quick decision and split the Kyuubi in half and sealed it within his children. Neither Kushina nor Minato survived that night. The Third Hokage had tried to help the twins, but the council had beat him to the children and outvoted him on what to do with them. The Thrid Hokage was banned from doing anything with them. (I'm not good at summaries, but it's something at least right?)

 **Pairings:** none really nor with any paticular characters in mind. Suggestions are welcome, though a fair warning that I am not used to romance.

 **Notes:** So this will be a mix of a lot of things. First this is going to be an AU story. A little background to help you understand this story: Naruto was born with a twin, and the Hokage has no power over either of them, but the council does. It will be just a bit darker as well and the villagers reactions will be more extreme than Cannon. This is going to be a civilian Naruto and OC (not a pairing) as background lore is also slightly different. The Bijuus are all smarter as they have been around for centuries and have had plenty of time to figure out things and make mistakes. Some are still insane, though. Naruto's twin is also someone who had died and been reborn.

I will try to upload a new chapter every weekend, but Please bare with me as this is my fist story. Constructive criticism is welcomed. I would really apreciant it if you could tell me what needs work and if my Characters are leaning towards Mary Sue/ Gary Stue. I really do not want to make a boring over powered character and am honestly trying not to, same thing with my plots and story all together. Sorry for the long note, enjoy the story.

* * *

 **~Prelude~**

She was five in this world, and she already felt numb to almost everything, or rather everyone. She had been out on the street since she could walk, being kicked out of the orphanage before she even knew what it was. Everything was fuzzy before she was two years of age. After being kicked out though, she never had anyone to help her more than absolutley nessassary, though not by her choice but the villager's. Even that was uncommon, and she had many scars to prove that no one really cared for her nor seemed to want to help her within her supposed home. It hurt more than anything, and It scared her that it was slowly not mattering to her anymore. She remembered having a loving family and a home that was styled different than all the ones she was looking at in the village. Before waking up here that is. She can not remember dying, or anything that has to do with crossing over into this world, but she remembered so much before it all happened. Growing up, having three younger siblings, becoming an artist and writer against her father's wishes, watching so many movies and making a few ideas that she thought could become one, and so much more. It was amazing there, where she had a home.

She was apparently a demon within the village, with the village acting as her cage. She wanted to leave, but where would she go? What would happen once she got out of the one she was in? She hardly knew anything about this world, and if the rest of it was as cruel as this village then she did not want to trade one demon for another. She recognized some of the villages aspects from the show her one of her sisters was obsessed with, but that was it. Most

of the details escaped her as it was never her cup of tea. Her name was Azumi, but it seemed that only one person knew or used it: an old man at a ramen stand. She had met him a few months ago, when she had been running as fast as she could away from a few angry drunks. She had ducked into what she thought was an okay place, and it had been his stand. The drunks had passed by, being too inhibited to realize where she had gone to. The old man had looked at her with suprise before calling her over to him to sit down. She had been hesitant, thinking that it could be another trying to hurt her. It took a few minutes of him coaxing her to him before she fully resigned herself to sitting where he had indicated. He had fed her and told her that his place always welcomed her. Azumi had cried hard and hugged him for what felt like ages after that, promising to herself that she would not spoil this affection and would never be rude to him.

It had been one of those moments where when she thought about it later on her eyes would water and widen, and she would actually feel something in her chest. It was warm and fuzzy and something that she knew she felt before coming to this world, but did not recognize it now after a few years of being under the hate of so many. That alone almost make her break down, but she didn't. She just let tears fall and a few shaky breaths before going about her day in a haze. He had been the first person in so long that had reached out a hand and ruffled her hair in affection. The last time was before she was in this world.

Azumi smiled slightly as she watched the sun raising from the Hokage mountain. She was on the first hokage's head, not really wanting to touch any of the others. It was early morning and so beautiful, and she was almost speechless at the calming smell in the air. She loved things like this, where the world was quiet and there was no hate surrounding her. It was moments where life was wonderful and not tampered with what she always felt near humans. Every other animal seemed fine with her, but humans. She did not really feel like going to see anyone today. She could see the old ramen man tomorrow.

Azumi stayed there under the morning sky and just breathed. She closed her violet eyes and put her hands behind her head as she payed down. She felt relaxed in that moment. All the wariness that had seeped into her skinny and malnourished body was forgotten for that moment as she slowly fell asleep. It was a slightly breezy summer day, and the villagers had not found her in two days. It was something to be celebrated.

* * *

When Azumi had woken up, it was past midday. She had had more peaceful hours of sleep than she had in weeks, and she could feel the difference. She pushed her medium red hair out of her face and got up from her prior sleeping position and wiped off drool from her cheek. Without her knowledge, something within her woke up as well. It lifted its head and watched the world through her eyes.

In that moment, after waking up refreshed, Azumi decided that she needed shelter. She was tired of not have ping a place of her own to go back to, to sleep and relax, a place that no one knew of and could never find. The creature in her folded its ears back and lowered its head just a tad. Azumi stared out into the forest behind the Hokage mountain. It was not apart of the city, being outside the wall, and she thought that it was better than being inside the city. It was time she started to do something in this life, instead of wallowing and not knowing anything. First she would make a hidden house that no one could get to, then she would go from there.

The creature inside of her lifted its ears before making a quick decision. It was time it stopped doing nothing as well. It would speak with the girl later that night.

* * *

Azumi had found a small hole that she could get into just fine. She had spent the rest of the day gathering leaves and other soft things like moss to make a bed out of. It was very comfortable after her time on the streets to say the least. It was too dark to gather anything eatable by the time she was done with the bed, so she just went to her burrow and started to clean up rocks and other things and put them by the walls so she did not hurt herself later on.

When she finally fell asleep, she was pulled deep within her mind. Where the creature had summoned and waited for her. It was weird walking through her mind. It was a mansion that looked like it was from a story that she wished she was in. She passed a dark forest that held glowing creatures and other fantasy things she learned about in her other world, and a magical garden that she was definantly going to look at later. When she went into the mansion, she explored a little. All the stories she read and wrote were in a library in it, there were fish and other sea creatures floating or swimming around the halls, she had a few bedrooms that were like different worlds, she had a movie theatre that held all the movie she ever saw, there was an art room filled with blank canvases and tons of art supplies of all kinds, the attic was filled with things that had to do with astrology and was soon what she considered her 'Galaxy', and in the basement of the mansion was a giant room with a huge cage. When she walked closer to it, she saw a large red fox with what looked like four tails. She wondered why it was behind the iron bars that were sealed with what looked like paper.

"Hello?" She was not supprised that her voice was so soft, she never really used it that much. She wondered if the fox had heard her at all. It looked at her before lowering its head to her height, letter her see its deep crimson eyes. It was beautiful to her, and she wondered if it could speak at all. She wished it was like a Disney movie in that moment, where she could understand all the animals.

" **Hello, kit.** " She jumped back at the voice, not expecting a reply. Her heart was pounding, but she was curious and happy that she could understand it. She wondered what gender it was. It had a deep voice, but it did not really sound female or male to her. It was something she could consider either. It was quiet for a moment as she thought and watched it.

"Who are you? Why are you here, anyway?" Her eyebrows furrowed a bit in concern. Was it trapped by someone and left to rot? She hoped not, and she hoped that it was not here for long before she had come.

" **I am the Kyuubi.** " It waited for her response. All she did was move closer.

"But what is your name?" It seemed to pause a moment, considering something before it sighed.

" **I looked through your memories before I brought you here.** " She frowned even more, in confusion and curiousity. " **And I have been watching through your eyes since you were one.** " It looked at her before sighed again and lifting its head up. It looked away for a bit, as if remembering something, and then back down at her. " **I guess that you need answers. I have mine, but you do not have yours. I think I owe you some, anyway.** " Azumi nodded before sitting down just outside of the cage. She would not ruin this chance to learn something that she did not already know before. " **This will take a while, but I guess it must be done. I am what they call a chakra beast, or a Bijuu. There are nine in this world, and each has a certain amount of power. You can tell the power by how many tails there is, with one being the lowest and nine the highest. They are more powerful than any of you humans, however, no matter how low their power it.**

 **"I myself was with nine tailed beast. I only have four tails, though, because I was split. My other five tails are in your brother."** Azumi frowned at this, confused. She knew it meant in this life, but she could not help but think back to her younger brother in her old world. When did she have a brother in this one? " **He was in the orphanage with you for a time, before you were kicked out so young. He was actually just kicked out last month. The only reason I even know this, is because my other half is in him. It is like I am in two places at once, with two minds that are not the same anymore and that are changing into two different people. I suspect that I will never become one again, and for that I am just a bit happy. For some reason I am calmer this way. It is like I am not so cramped up in one body, or like I had multiple personalities and now they all have their own body. Me and my other half both feel more normal being split up, and it is odd because we have only ever been one."**

It got lost in its thoughts before shaking itself and looking at her. " **Anyway, that is besides the point. I was sealed within you and my other half was sealed within your twin at birth. I have to say, for how terrible your life is, your brother is far worse off. He has the more hot headed half sealed in him, the one that lets its chakra leak just a bit. That leak is what makes most humans in this village turn aggressive, thinking that the Kyuubi is escaping. I think that we should include him in your safety plans, or life plan."** Azumi was staring, wide eyed, at it. She had a twin that was being treated like her? That was treated worse than her? She took a moment to think about this. She was an adult in a child's body. He was most likely just a child all together. She could handle what she was going through far better than he could. Her mind drifted to her own younger siblings, back in her old world. They were her life and light. They had been annoying, beautiful, wonderful, rude, precious, and so many things that only a sibling could fit. The fox continued on.

" **I feel responsible for the both of you. I watched and saw what happened to you both in this village, all for holding me. If I had been smarter or if I had not been controlled that night, you would not have gone through this. You would have had a better life. You _and_ your brother." ** It stared at her, eyes watery for a second before it dried up. " **I am not a mindless, heartless beast. I am not something that is just in existence to destroy. I led many lives before being sealed. I am older than the oldest village, ninja or not. I am not only furious at what happened, at being sealed, at being mocked, at being used, and being tormented in this way. I am also lonely, afraid, apologetic, and disgusted."** It stopped, looking pained for a moment. It closed its eyes and sighed. " **And with that in mind, I wish to help you. I wish to help you survive and thrive."** Its eyes opened to reveal a softer look that left Azumi with watery eyes and a clenching chest. " **I am just a spirit and chakra. Not able to have any kits of my own, but I _have_ had kits to look after before. I can help look after you and your brother this time. Please, let me help you, and please help me in return."** Azumi looked at it, crying, shocked, speechless, and not knowing what to do. She let her body do what it wanted. She got up, walked past the bars, and burried her face in the foxes giant paw.

They sat there in silence, Azumi crying and the fox not looking at anything in paticular but deep in its own mind. After crying, Azumi spoke to the fox in a soft unused voice. "Do you have a name?"

" **When I was whole, it was Kurama. A name my father gave me when I was first born."** She looked up at the fox.

"Do you have a gender?"

" **No. No Bijuu has a gender or sexual organs."** Azumi looked up at it.

"Have you ever wanted to be called something than it?" The fox sighed and closed its eyes.

" **I am a fox. I can shapeshift at will. I have been both and have been called so many different things over the years.** " It looked down at her, and she looked back up at it.

"Can you be a male for me? Can your other half be a female?" She looked at it, still holding tears in her eyes. "Can you held fill in the gap that my family left behind?" It looked at her, startled. It had just said it was going to look after her, but it did not think about her wanting a family as well with it. Maybe it was implied that it was okay with that. There was a moment, where it stared into her hurt and deep violet eyes, before its eyes softened.

" **Only if you will let me. I can get my other half to go along with this as well."** It was going to be one weird family, though, but it was a family at the very least. A family that could actually have love. She looked up into _his_ eyes after wiping her own.

"Can I call you Kura? The other half can be Rama. That way you both still have the name your father gave you, in one form or another." He looked at her with soft eyes, and smile for the first time since she met him. It was a beautiful sight. Someone was smiling at her.

" **You may."** She smiled back up with a faint smile of her own. She then got outside of the gate and looked up at the paper keeping it together. Kura lifted her up, sensing that she wanted to be closer to it. She took a moment to look at it before ripping it clean off without any hesitation. There was a surge through her system before it settled down. Kura was free to roam her mind. The seal may be off in one way, but the God of Death had made that seal. It would not fully let the two Kyuubi be free fully, not matter that the paper was peeled away.

* * *

They spent the rest of the night talking and planning. Kura helped plan things that Azumi was not familiar with. She had told him that she did not intend to ever be a ninja, and she would let her brother decide on his own if he would or not. She wanted to continue in this world as an artist and writer, like she was in the last one. It was just her calling. This time, though, she was going to rewrite all the things she had seen and read and sell them as well as make her own books. It might inspire someone like it had inspired her, even though she knew she would never really take any credit for the books, just the money to make a living, it was worth it to get take the newer generation by storm and plant ideas in their head that they could be anything.

She had also made a hard decision over the next week as Kura added his knowledge to her library. She decided that she and her brother were going to change. They would become entirely new people, so that they could live in peace. She hated that she had decided to stay in the village that she was raised in, but she did not want to run away from her problems and completely ignore them. She was going to be strong and she was going to shove it in their face that she was alive and doing well. She and her brother could roam throughout the world, but she knew she was going to make a home in this village, and no one was going to tell her differently. She was also going to learn how to defend herself and her brother enough to hold off Anbu, not to kill them or over power them but to at least be safe from them. Who knows what kind of danger she would encounter if she stayed in this village.

All she needed to do now was get her brother and start working. It was time to get her ass in gear.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes: I have been sick for a few days, and have something major coming up so I may not be able to post a new chapter this coming weekend. I will try to write it before I get busy and all that, so I can post it by Saturday or Sunday, but I really can't promise anything. Enjoy this chapter, though, and please tell me if anything is needing worked on (Characterization, plot, ect.) or just whatever.**

* * *

Azumi had made her hole more comfortable over a week, adding even an area where she could put a small fire to keep her warm if she could not build a house before winter and to cook future food in what she saw as safety. She had been looking for her brother as well, but it was a bit hard with how big the village was and trying to dodge angry villagers.

Not all of the villagers were cruel, but they were the majority that she met and saw. She knew that some were not even close to how they acted, and she wished that she knew more of them besides the old man at the ramen stand. She had gotten Kura to tell her what her brother looked like: sun kissed blond hair, sky blue eyes, and tanned skin. At the end of the week, she found him, but he was so much more beautiful than what she had thought. He was timid and shy, shrinking back most of the time from anyone. He had the hair, but it was a bit more vibrant in the clean parts than she thought. His eyes were deep and were just beautiful in how the colors within were arranged.

She still was heartbroken at how he turned out, at how he was treated. She had found him hiding in an alleyway, smaller than even she was- and she was too skinny to be anywhere near healthy. His eyes had looked resigned and watery when she had approached him, like he knew what she was going to do. Yet she knew she would never do what he expected her to in that moment.

"What's your name?" She had asked him softly in her unused voice. He had looked at her like she was an anomaly, like he had never seen someone like her. Was it so bad that just a simple question that is always asked, surprised him to this point? Was she like this? Had she been just as bad with the old ramen man? With Kura?

She looked at him as he quietly opened and closed his mouth without so much as a word. She waited for him to do something, not wanting to press him too much. She felt a pull towards him while she waited, like she wanted to hug him or be near him. It took her a minute to understand it, Kura was most likely being attracted to his other half, who was in her brother.

"Naruto." She almost did not hear him or understand what he was saying. She stood there for a minute before giving him a small, honest smile. His eyes widened even more and he seemed to lean just a bit forward, as if to get closer to her.

"I'm Azumi. You look like you could use a bath. Do you want me to help clean you up?" He stayed there for a moment before leaning backward and trembling faintly. She nearly broke down. It was one thing for her to be close to this way, it was another for an innocent child to be this way. She at least could handle herself more, or she at least assumed she could. She could at least rationalize things easier than a true child, though the child hormones that she felt made it difficult in that aspect sometimes.

"Do you know what a pinky promise is?" She watched as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he shook his head. She smiled a bit. "When someone makes a pinky promise, they are swearing in the purest form that they are being honest and will uphold what they promise, no matter what." He nodded his head in understanding, and she felt a bit relieved for some reason. "You hold out your pinky finger and link it with the other person's own pinky finger." She held out her pinky finger to him, and continued on while he looked at it. "If you will let me, then I pinky promise to be the best big sister that ever was to you, and you can never break a pinky promise."

His eyes widened at the implication of what she just said. Someone had wanted him, and she felt like hell. Was this how she was to the old man? Is this how she had looked? She was there with her pinky holding out for a while, and she started to think he would never take up on her offer. Somehow she did not blame him, but was saddened even more.

"I am your actual twin, and we are from the same parents. I will never lie to you, especially about this above all things." His eyes widened at the added information. "I am swearing to you with the most honest and purest intentions." Her voice was hurting from overusing it. It was so pathetic that this was her limit in speach, that this was how soon her voice got tired. "And those intentions are no where that will ever hurt you." His eyes filled with tears and he started to shake even more, before he held out his own pinky finger, and linked it with her own.

"Let's get you cleaned up, yeah?" She smiled at him once more.

"Y-yeah." He was so beautiful, that it hurt her to see that his eyes were crying and he was trembling. Her baby brother, regardless of birth order, was in pain and she wanted to get rid of whatever was causing it.

* * *

"Sorry for the cold water, but it _is_ a river," Azumi laughed softly and smiled at him. She had no where else to help clean him off than a river that was close to her hole. She was thinking of calling it the Great Iceberg with how cold it always was, though it was nice in the summer like right now. She helped him out of his clothes and got her own off to go in with him. It would be easier to help him clean up when she was in as well.

"I-it's fine." He smiled up at her timidly. He was getting clean, why would how cold it was matter? It was actually very nice in the water, as it was getting really hot outside and the sun was bearing down on them. He looked up at her as she washed his arms. He had family. He was not going to be alone, and she was even his blood! It was not going to be like that time he had gotten adopted, only to be thrown around and left behind. She was just a bit taller than him, but it seemed like she stood tall and was a beacon. She made a pinky promise, though, that she would be _his_ and would _take care of him no mater what._

Azumi finished cleaning him up, and saw that his hair was actually a beautiful shade of gold, though many would say yellow here. She told him about Kura and Rama, though a simpler version that would not upset him more than he already would be, and showed him how to get into his mind to talk to Rama. She let Rama tell him more details, like why he was hated. She would not lie to him, and she needed him to know how serious it was that they changed their appearances and names if not their entire appearance. Maybe it was a drastic decision, but she was willing to make it for the both of them if it meant that they would be safe. If it meant that _he_ would be safe.

She had also already decided that she was not going to have a name from this world. It was just something small she saw that she could spite the people there, without many if any realizing it. It would also be a sort of tribute to her old life, something to remind herself that she was an older sister of three- now four- children and was a loved daughter to two parents that would give her all the world. It was a tribute to herself, as she knew she would grow and change and not be the same one that had left her old life, and she knew that she loved a lot of aspects of her old self that she wanted to remember and keep. She would give Naruto a choice, but she really would rather have him throw away his name or any name that came from here. She was being selfish, but she really wanted to name him something that was more special than she thought this world could offer. Maybe it was just her maternal instincts.

They were both on the bank of the river, sitting in a very shallow part, and just relaxing. Naruto was in his mind, probebly talking to Rama. She on the other hand, was talking to Kura in her head, planning out all that she wanted to change.

"Can you change us?" She closed her eyes so she could focus on just the conversation.

 **"I...don't know but I think that I can. Chakra is an amazing thing in this world, and I have another ability that I think will help greatly. Normally you could not change like you are wanting to with just Chakra or a surgery, but since you both have me and Rama then it is possible. We both are Kitsunes first and foremost, and Bijuu second. Our spirits were Kitsunes before coming into the Chakra and filling it's empty shell. Some of our nature transferred over, such as shapeshifting. And since we are sealed permanently within both of you, it makes some sort of sense that you could technically have or use that power."**

"That's... Great actually." Azumi smiled slightly. That made everything so much better. She had just assumed she could only change her appearance, but maybe with the shapeshifting, she could change something deeper and more personal. Like how their chakra feels or their DNA to some extent. And change them permanently. "Could we change our DNA slightly? If we ever went to a hospital, then a simple blood work would destroy all that we are trying to accomplish. I don't actually know mush about chakra, but could it be used to identify who we are?" There was a silent pause as they both thought about it.

 **"Contrary to some beliefs, there is no actual way to tell Chakras apart. Only nature. You could tell if something is human, Bijuu, animal, plant, or an inanimate object. As far as I know about Chakra, which is a lot with how long I have had to play with it, there could not be a way to identify anything more specific with Chakra. Maybe how much but that is it."** She nodded to herself. That was amazing. It was one less thing that she needed to worry about, and wasn't that something? It's like she was numb until she found Kura and Naruto, like that was all she needed to kick her ass in to gear and to feel more passionately again. To be more empathetic, like how she was in her old life. She brought her mind back onto the topics at hand.

"I...think..." She knew it would be tough for her, but would Naruto agree to something more? She would do it, because she needed to be seen as something more than a brave girl, but..."that a change of gender would be good for the both of us." She could feel Kura pause and hesitate, and she understood perfectly well. This was taking it one step further. Did she really need to go so far? "I...I just think maybe it would be easier for the both of us. People take men more serious, and...I just want my baby brother to be able to show every emotion he has without being...well..." She started to collect her thoughts. Her baby brother was emotional, and girls could more freely show emotions and act on them it seemed like. She knew the main reason for changing her gender would just be mostly to make it fair to her baby brother. There were other reasons, but she needed to show him that she was willing to change and go through all he is for and with him. Maybe there were other, more stupid and selfish reasons, but she stuck to that one.

Kura let her think, knowing it was a large decision. It would not only affect her, but Naruto as well. Gender was not so much of something he cared about, but knew humans were very piticular sometimes about it. Who knows, maybe it is a smart decision. Maybe it is something stupid that will cause problems later on more than solve them.

"I want to change our genders fully and permanatley." She opened her eyes and started into the now clouded sky. A new resolve settled into her chest and stomach. There was a hint of excitement mixed in her as well. She was doing something that was impossible to her before Kura. She was going to be depended on by a sibling once more. She had a sibling. Maybe most people were fine without one, but she always loved having younger siblings. They helped her so many times and always thought of something she herself could not see. "And while we are at it...I think we need a slightly different age. Maybe just two years older. It would be easier to seperate ourselves a bit more from the village pariahs that they will no longer be.

She felt Kura smile in her, amused and something else that she could not identify. She was not really so good with identifying emotions. Oh well, she knew subconsciously what it was and that was enough for her.

 **"So, let me get this straight. Gender swap, add two years, change the blood and slightly the DNA of you two, and slight detail changing."** She knew for certain that he was smiling at her now. " **You know this will hurt beyond Hell? Rama and I can make it so you do not remember it, but it _will_ hurt beyond your comprehension."** She started to shake at the thought of it, but then thought about the consequences of staying as she is, as Naruto is. It was not an option. For a life, a fair life, they needed this. It was something else she could spite them with, throwing away her features as well as Naruto's and none be the wiser. They would be treating them with so much more respect, and if they knew just who they are then they would kill themselves. Her resolve strengthened. There was one thing she loved doing, proving someone wrong and shoving it in their face.

"Yes. I am willing to go through that, and I will talk to Naruto about this as well. I feel like this is something we _need to do._ We could always run from the village, change our names and hide, but it is not the same as a fresh start. What goes around, comes around. I do not want this to come around." Her eyes hardened in determination, and she sat up. She needed to do this. She _would_ do this.

* * *

She waited for Naruto to wake up from his chat with Rama. She focused on how the water felt, on the slight breeze, the sounds that were surrounding her. Then she looked at Naruto, her new brother. She needed to build a house, and then get started on writing to sell books. They were starting from scratch, and it would be rough for the first few years. She knew they could make it though. Her goal was to make Naruto healthy, and happy. That was all she cared about so far, besides Kura and Rama. Though she had not met Rama yet.

She thought about Naruto a bit. She could help school him, or maybe he would want to go to an actual school to learn. They could go shopping as soon as she sold her first book or two, and let him get clothes and stuff for a bedroom. Though, she needed to build a house first. Maybe she could have a big garden, something that would be nice and relaxing as well as somewhat useful. They could build it close to the lake so they could easily swim when they wanted, or she could put it further out, more away from the village for privacy. Would she buy from the store owners in the village, or would she just buy things from caravans that came through often.

She felt her heart melt. She was so excited to spoil another sibling, to help raise another one. She smiled, before she froze. Naruto had been mistreated by the villagers, so much more than she had. He was going to need help emotionally, as well as physically. Would he need some help getting over having to change so much about himself, or the traumas that he had experienced as a small child? She knew they needed to change. She stood by that decision, but what would Naruto say about it? What would _he_ want? She barley knew him, and she needed to change that. She could not just get him one day and change his life completely the next. That was just so wrong of her.

She could hold off for a bit to know him before she changed him forever. Their first priority would be to make a house, get to know eachother, plan for the future, maybe other things as well. Azumi needed time to pick names out anyway and think on her plan, to make sure that it was not just an on the fly decision. She sighed and leaned back, before looking into the water. She was probably going a bit fast, now that she thought about it...well, really fast. She played with a snail in the water as she waited for Naruto to wake up. Maybe her younger sister should have been the one to come here, not her. She would know what to do, well either that or try and pounce on Itachi.

Azumi smiled at the snail thinking about her younger sister, Lily. Lily was not the youngest girl, that went to Sarah, but she was hyper and loved anime none-the-less. Maybe she would have rocked the place, or jumped all over all the guys. The snail went up her finger and hand, eventually making a trail all over her arm. It was cute. She inspected it lazily, wondering how she would see the world as a snail or from its height. She would have to try that some day. She put the snail back into the low water just as Naruo woke up.

"Azumi?" His soft voice pulled her away from what she had been pondering before hand. She turned to him.

"Yeah? I'm right here." She wondered how this would end. Would they both end up alone? Torn?

"I..." He sat up and looked down into the water, where a few fish where tying to swim up to him. He watched them for a moment, before tears started to fall down his face silently. Azumi's heart started to pound and shrink. They both sat in silence for a moment.

"I...think that...you can just wait for a bit to talk." Azumi gave him a watery smile. "I think we both need to collect our thoughts. Just...let's just relax for a moment." He looked up at her with with red face, before nodding and looking back down. She looked out into the lake, just taking her time looking and breathing. She felt pressure behind her eyes, but tried to ignore it. She looked around and finally closed her eyes for a minute. When she regained her bearings, she looked back to Naruto. He seemed to be lost in thought, but he was not crying anymore. His eyes were slightly red, as was his nose, but he looked more composed.

"Rama... Rama-chan said that-that..." Tears sprung to his eyes again. He looked at her, pleading. "I-it's n-not tru-ue is it?" His lip was trembling and his nose started to run and turn red. Her own eyes started to act up as well in response to his.

"Y-yeah," she said shakily. She took a deep breath and let it out, trying to calm herself. "It's all true, well I guess I don't know what she told you. The reason the villagers hate you, hate me, why we were alone until now, and...well it is just all so odd I guess. I'm sure that-" She was cut off as Naruto tackled her to the ground in a bone-crushing hug. That did it for her control. She started to shake and cry with him, holding onto him for dear life. She missed Lily, because she was her best friend and sister. She was always there for her, always helped her through tough times, and gave her more courage than she seemed to want to show.

* * *

They had both calmed down by nightfall. By then, they had both cleaned their clothes up and redressed before going back to Azumi's little den. Naruto had looked curious at it, but not said much. Azumi had gotten them both into the bed after a small meal. Naruto had looked to be filled to the brim, probably having his first meal in a while. Azumi herself was full after a small meal. She really did not have a big stomach yet.

"Let's get to bed. We can talk more in the morning." She smiled at him, and held out her hand. He had looked at her hand for just a second before smiling hesitantly back up at her and taking it. When they were in bed and almost asleep, Naruto snuggled closer to her and sighed. She didn't mind. Her youngest sister used to do it all the time, thinking that she owned the bed in her sleep.

"Ni' ni' 'umi."

"Ni' 'ruto." Both of their voices were quiet and heavy with sleep, that it was hard to understand what they were saying. Deep within them, the two Kyuubi purred, happy to be closer for the first time since their separation. They could talk mentally and knew where the other was, but it was not the same as being within a few feet from eachother. That night, the twins slept in the best sleep they had had in months.


End file.
